YVR Recognized as a Key Link Between Canada and China

Over the past several years, YVR has worked hard to bring economic and social benefits to our communities. And on December 2, the China Canada Business Council (CCBC) recognized this progress, awarding YVR its Outstanding Member Award at the 5th Canada China Business Excellence Awards in Toronto.

YVR's Air Service Director, Carl Jones (middle), accepts the Outstanding Member Award at the 5th Canada China Business Excellence Awards in Toronto.

This award is presented to a Canadian organization—of any size, in any sector—that above all has implemented successful, high-profile business initiatives or special projects in a two-year period. These ventures must have resulted in commercial success and stood out among competitors as key milestones that further promote connections between the two countries.

For those who have followed YVR`s story over the last couple years, the examples are numerous. We have launched an incredible string of new air services that have not only further connected our passengers to China and the Asia Pacific, but have resulted in direct economic and social benefits for our customers and region. We currently have service from five mainland Chinese carriers and we will soon have service from six with the launch of our new partner Beijing Capital Airlines and their YVR – Qingdao – Hangzhou service on December 30. And since 2015, Air Canada has introduced a diverse range of services to markets around the world from YVR and has been key in driving growth in China and beyond.

These new services are the direct result of our Integrated Marketing Strategy, a comprehensive, integrated and partnership approach that aligns all activities in Air Service Development, Marketing, Government Relations, Communications and Community Relations. Launched in 2015, the Strategy focuses all of YVR’s assets and resources in a clear direction, based on solid analysis, toward the achievement of our strategic goal of serving 25 million people by 2020.

We are always focused on the customer experience and during the past couple years we have made great progress with visa-free initiatives. Our team has worked with partners, airlines and governments to expand visa-free transit between Asia and the Americas, which makes new routes viable. In 2015, the Government of Canada announced the addition of five Chinese cities—Xiamen, Fuzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Harbin—to the list of approved cities under the China Transit Program. And we have continued to push for more access under the Transit Without Visa program, better connecting customers from all over the world.

We have also reached out to our customers and partners to better understand their needs. We recently launched YVR`s Weibo account and received over 1 million views in 2015. We have also worked with airlines to develop an innovative rates and charges program, ConnectYVR, that offers some of the lowest rates in North America.

We do all this because we are committed to delivering an exceptional experience, every day. And we recognize that this experience spans a diverse audience that connects through YVR—to Canada and the world. We are proud to receive recognition and to be a part of the China Canada Business Council, whose positive and ambitious vision aligns with our mission of connecting BC proudly to the world.